WILMINGTON, NC -- The University of Delaware baseball team’s four-run eighth inning rally was matched by Virginia Commonwealth in the bottom of the inning as the Blue Hens fell to VCU, 10-6, in a second round game of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament on Thursday evening.

Senior catcher Ryan Engelhardt (right) had two hits and four RBI for the Blue Hens (30-22), while Alex Buchholz had two hits and two RBI.

The Hens once again took the lead in the top of the first. On a 1-2 pitch, Buchholz crushed his second home run in as many days deep over the leftfield fence for a 1-0 Delaware lead.

VCU (35-21) took the lead in their half of the first. With a runner on and two outs, Delaware starter Brent Gaphardt hit pitcher John Leonard on a 1-2 pitch. With a 1-2 count on Chris Jackson, both VCU runners were in motion and Jackson pulled Gaphardt’s pitch past a diving Bill Merkler at third base. Trai Harris then singled back through the middle to give the Rams the lead.

Delaware tied the game in the second when Engelhardt’s two out double landed on the warning track in leftcenter just out of the reach of the diving Ram leftfielder Matthew Leskiw. VCU took the lead on an unearned run in the bottom of the second, when Sergio Miranda’s ground ball went through the legs of Merkler at third and Richard Gonzalez came home.

The Hens put two runners on with only one out in the top of the fourth, but Leonard struck out Kyle Davis and got Jablonski to fly out to right to end the inning.

VCU loaded the bases with one out in the fourth on a leadoff walk, a single and a hit by pitch. Evans then hit a chopper to Merkler, who hesitated before his throw home pulled Engelhardt off the plate, allowing Carlos Rodriguez to score. Jared Bolden’s sacrifice fly then scored Leskiw to extend the Ram lead to 5-2. Gaphardt then struck out his counterpart Leonard to end the inning, but not before the Rams scored their second and third unearned runs of the night.

Merkler led off the sixth with a double, but Leonard struck out Scott Shockley and got Engelhardt to ground out to third after a wild pitch. Davis walked to bring the tying run to the plate, and Leonard was removed for Bill Wieland. Jablonski popped up Wieland’s first offering to shallow right to end the inning. It marked the third time in four innings that the Hens leadoff hitter reached base and did not score, and in the other innng the Hens had two on after the leadoff hitter was retired but did not score in that inning either.

After Leskiw walked after being down 0-2, Miranda and Evans followed with singles to left that gave the Rams a 6-2 lead. In the seventh, Buchholz reached on a walk before Hagerich flew out to deep left and Tsakonas grounded out to third to end the inning. To this point, after Engelhardt’s double in the second the Blue Hens were 0-13 with runners on base.

The Hens came all the way back in the eighth. With two runners on and one out, Engelhardt bombed his fourth home run of the season inside the foul pole in left to make it a 6-5 game. With two outs, VCU reliever Mick Mattaliano walked Menchaca, who stole second and scored on Buchholz’ 27th double of the season. The double tied the CAA single-season record. Hagerich was intentionally walked and Adam Tsakonas grounded into a fielder’s choice at short to end the inning, but the Hens had turned a four-run deficit into a tie game.

The Rams put two runners on with only one out in the bottom of the eighth. Miranda then singled up the middle to load the bases. Evans struck out for the second out of the inning before Bolden hooked a 1-2 pitch from David Slovak through the right side to score two runs. Leonard then hit a ball deep in the hole at short that he beat to first base, and two more Rams crossed home plate.

Mattaliano earned the win to move to 4-2, while Slovak took the loss to fall to 2-4.

The Hens return to action tomorrow afternoon at noon when they take on George Mason in an elimination game.

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